THERE were strong indications yesterday that the removal of primary radar from the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) project may have adverse effect on the operations of air traffic controllers.
Some air traffic controllers who spoke with The Guardian alleged that the removal of primary radar from the main component of the TRACON project would give them inaccurate reading.
However, spokesman for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Supo Atobatele, differed with the air traffic controllers, insisting that despite the removal of primary radar from TRACON, air traffic controllers could still function with the one currently in use.
He noted that already, the organisation has sent some of its air traffic controllers on training in readiness for full installation of TRACON in Lagos, while awaiting the addition of primary radar to the project.
He allayed fears that the second phase of the project, which covers airports in Abuja and Kano, might not be completed within the 15-month target given to the contractors, Thales of France.
Atobatele disclosed that the issue of fund was being sorted out by the Due Process Office.
The Federal Government, through the Minister of State for Air Transportation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has instructed the contractors handling the project to restore the primary radar component earlier dropped from the project.
The air traffic controllers had hinged their refusal to use the radar on the premise that the primary radar component was the soul of the entire TRACON project.
They argued that the equipment, unlike the secondary system, would detect any object in the country’s airspace and the altitude of any aircraft, which greatly enhance the air traffic controllers’ efficiency.
The secondary system does not give accurate position of the radar system and is highly dependent on the primary system, they claimed.
The primary radar system also helps to determine instantly an enemy’s incursion into Nigeria’s airspace.
Initially, the project, which included the installation of primary radar at four airports, was to cost ?66,500,870. But when the primary radar was removed in the course of implementation, the contract price dropped to ?57,379,580, as the cost of primary radar for four airports was ?9,121,290.
The Federal Government at the weekend directed that work should resume on the multi-billion naira TRACON project, 15 months after it was allegedly abandoned by NAMA’s immediate past management.
Setting a target of 15 months for the completion of this phase, NAMA chief, Capt. Ado Sanusi, hinted that about N1.6 billion and N2.5 billion appropriated in 2006 and
2007 budgets in that order would form the basis of funding TRACON.
Under the renewed drive to sustain the project, new buildings are to be provided for Abuja and Kano airports, instead of refurbishment, while all on-shore payments are to be invoiced in naira.
“With the signing of Amendment No 3, there is no doubt that the agency is now poised to fast-track this project once more with all the seriousness it deserves to ensure that the implementation of this phase of the project is achieved in target time”, the managing director said.
Sanusi explained that TRACON would enhance safety, as all aircraft would be under surveillance with incidence of mid-air collision narrowed to almost zero.
He added that the new radar system would all allow for effective billing of airline aeronautical charges, as no aircraft would again sneak into the country’s airspace without being detected.